View: Liam Cooper out – Predicted Leeds United starting XI v Arsenal
Leeds United travel to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon knowing a win is critical in this Premier League survival race.
The Whites are now only two points ahead of Everton knowing that they have played a game more than the Toffees.
Jesse Marsch will be forced into changes too, with Stuart Dallas out long term and big doubts surrounding Liam Cooper.
Illan Meslier will start in goal as usual, and he will be wanting a much better outing than the 4-0 defeat against Manchester City.
Luke Ayling will start at right-back, with the back four returning due to the lack of defensive options available, and Junior Firpo will be on the left.
Robin Koch and Pascal Struijk will keep their spots in the heart of the defence, with Cooper not yet risked given what looked like a muscle injury.
Kalvin Phillips will be critical to our chances of staying up, and he will once again start in that holding role as he looks for more continuity.
Mateusz Klich is literally our only other option, and after a solid performance against City, he will start again.
Raphinha and Jack Harrison will be looking to expose the fragile Arsenal full-backs with their skill and should get more of the ball compared to last weekend.
The system change means we will revert back to two up top, with Dan James joining Rodrigo in an attempt to create more chances and hopefully pick up a vital three points – we are reaching desperation time.
Here’s how we expect the Whites to line-up…
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are leading the race to complete a major signing and have already opened talks to seal a £25m deal